Padres News: Insider Slams Friars, Questions 'Heart and Drive' of Roster

San Diego has very much underachieved this year.

It's no secret that the Padres have fallen well short of expectations this year. 

With the team sitting at eight games under .500 and five and a half games out of a playoff spot with 24 games to go, the fact that they've wildly underachieved is laid bare for all to see. 

And for a franchise laden with stars like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Blake Snell, and Josh Hader, the talented squad that was supposed to be World Series contenders instead sees their postseason hopes on life support. 

And USA Today's Bob Nightengale certainly noticed.

When he addressed the question of who he considers the most disappointing team in MLB this year, he gave that lowly distinction to the Padres. And he didn't pull any punches when doing so. 

"The choice is easy.

The Padres.

They are the most underachieving team in baseball history, embarrassing themselves with their riches of talent, only to have a record slightly better than the Washington Nationals.

If the Padres had the heart and drive of the Philadelphia Phillies, they would have won 110 games this year. Instead, they played with all of the passion of a spring training game."

via Bob Nightengale of USA Today

While calling them the most underachieving team in history may seem a little harsh, he has a point considering where one of the most talented teams in the National League -- on paper -- stands.

Surely, if they had the heart and drive of the Phillies -- an aspect Nightengale made sure to call out -- San Diego could've found themselves as one of the top teams in baseball with the playoffs set to begin in a month. 

Instead, they're far from that. The talent-rich San Diego Padres are one of the worst teams in MLB relative to where they were supposed to be, and are anywhere from a cautionary tale to a pure laughingstock around the sport. 

They have about a month to change that, but the odds of that happening are becoming further and further remote by the day.